An Alternate View: Being #GC78 Tired

I'm not just tired.....I'm #GC78 tired (but in a great way!)
Today began at 6:50, running to swap credentials at the Salt Palace, followed by delicious quiche at Eva's Boulangerie with lay deputy Edgar Stearns and the chair of our EDOLA deputation Rev'd Sharon Alexander. I was able to meet up again with Brother Jim Woodrum from SSJE for some coffee and conversation and then I made my way to the Media Room. I will probably step into worship a little later, but for now, I can hear the music in the Media area so am content. I'm also not quite ready to throw out my coffee. Today, I'll be an alternate so have a very full day. In fact, I hear from many that we will probably go until 9:00 PM. YIKES!
I had an involved twitter conversation this morning about the decision to leave out the names of performing ensembles and groups in the convention worship bulletins. The music at each service has been excellent and quite varied so that there has been something for everyone, but no names of performers have been given. Each bulletin is a PDF so looks easy to update/alter. Some comments that I received included that
- It is not the Standing Committee on Liturgy & Music's job and that they have no connections with the music planning for worship (I did not know that!)
- Sometimes you can catch the info on the Media Hub
- The SCLM only does work tasked to them by GC resolutions (ok, that makes sense) and their scope is limited
- Some arrangers have been thanked and some copyright info on pieces listed, so there is some info.
Ah, anyway, I can simply point it out and discuss it. I am quite sure that the info is somewhere, but I cannot find it.
I ran into Bishop Michael Curry, our newly-elected presiding bishop, in the hallway and managed to snag a big hug! :-)

                                

I spent the day on the House of Deputies Floor and it was super interesting, but VERY lengthy. Some of the highlights include:
- Heated debate in favor of church planting
- Legislature does tend to run in circles sometimes. There was this issue which took almost 30-45 minutes to solve with several cues from the Parliamentarian.

- Passing the proposed budget for The Episcopal Church (!!!)
See my twitter stream for more! @Conductor222
This evening, I went to a fun restaurant called Wasatch and tomorrow is the final day of convention. I'm trying to steer my thoughts a little bit back to the rest of what's been going on in the world and also look ahead to next Tuesday when I leave for India!!!
Thanks for reading!
Caroline :-)

An Alternate View: Salmon, Deputizing, and Baseball at #GC78

Monday, Day #5 of #GC78

"Who eats salmon for breakfast?!" my bishop asks as he swiftly walks by on the way to his legislative committee. I'm not really a morning person. If it were 9:00 instead of 7:00 and I had a coffee, I might have been able to think of a comeback. I have a vague notion that lots of people eat salmon for breakfast. I love my bishop, so I'll let him have this one....this time :-)

The General Convention has a tough schedule. One has to be fully coherent and functional by 7:00 AM and ready for a looooong day of work. Today was my first day as a Deputy on the floor of the House of Deputies so I had to be here to register and change credentials at 7:00 AM. I'm used to complaining about ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) reading sessions at 8:00 AM! Let me tell you, those sessions now seem like cake. 
CAKE I tell you.

(Solely for the purposes of this blog, I got a cake-like item in the afternoon and enjoyed eating it ....)
- No legislative committee session for me this morning so I took some time and chatted with friends.
- Community Eucharist at 9:30 I'm glad to see that most people attend these services. The Media Hub is fantastic so I hope you're occasionally watching from home.

The Lux Singers from Salt Lake City sand beautifully this morning. The Pilgrim's Hymn (Paulus), O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria), and Bogoroditse Devo from Rachmaninov's All Night Vigil were a few of their selections. It was nice!

                                  

The Archbishop Vicken Aykazian of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church in America preached and afterwards congratulated Presiding Bishop-elect Michael Curry. 

Also recognized was the 100th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide and The Episcopal Church's hospitality to Armenian refugees who came to the US. The Archbishop was wearing an amazing pectoral cross.

                 

- 11:00 my first legislative session as a Deputy! :-)
View from the table with MARTY the crawfish and Jacques the Duck

Today was my first time going to bunch w/ the deputation. We went to Café Molise 

                 

- 2:15 session until 6:00

It was exciting to follow the legislative procedure from the floor and to track the many amendments. I got to vote several times today! I reached a point where the language and rhythm felt a easier to gauge and predict and I could usually tell who was coming up for what. There were a lot of people who just came up to speak and hear themselves. There were also times of robust testimony from both sides of an argument. 
- Here's my Twitter stream again in case you want to see my play-by-play of the proceedings. I ran over to the House of Bishops as soon as we had recess and came in to hear someone testifying against a canonical resolution. He was reading the Bible and calling for members of the LGBT community to know and to prayerfully abstain from mutual sexual gratification. As soon as he finished, I had to leave, but at the end of the day, we got news that the House of Bishops DID pass key resolutions!!!! Check out my friend Melodies Woerman's Deputy News post!

Now, for a bit of fun, members of the Diocesan deputations from Louisiana, Western Louisiana, Tennessee, and Western North Carolina all went to the Salt Lake City Bees vs. Albuquerque Isotopes baseball game! I'm sure there are tons more #GC78 folks here too!

It was SO HOT! but is now starting to cool off. FINALLY, a breeze! I sat next to Bill Bryant from the Diocese of Western Louisiana. He is a priest who was formerly a chemist so of course we exchanged jokes about isotopes and chemistry! :-) FUN!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned,
Caroline :-)

An Alternate View: Peaceful Procession, Procedure, and Partaking at #GC78

This morning, at 7:15 AM, our diocesan bishop, Morris K. Thompson, my bishop-in-residence at St. Paul's Episcopal - Duncan Gray, myself, several members of the Louisiana Deputation, and hundreds of others participated (I heard a rumor of 1500) in "Claiming Common Ground", a peaceful procession of the group Bishops Against Gun Violence. 

It was early, it was hot, and it was amazing to see so many people joining the procession with a worshipful spirit and an energy to stand up and say "NOW is the time for the work of speaking out against gun violence!" A very moving speech by Carolyn Tuft brought the listeners to tears and she described how she was shot and her daughter shot and killed. She pointed out that if she had had a gun, there would still not have been enough to time react and that events would have unfolded in the same manner. HERE is coverage of her speech by the Episcopal News Service. If you have the time, it is well worth a listen. All of the testimonies from those who spoke were intensely powerful. Bishop Hayashi of Utah also spoke about his experience of being shot and the long healing process for him and for his family.

Many thanks to the organizers who obtained all the permits and to the police force that rode ahead of and alongside the bishops as we all walked!                   

Bishop Thompson has been a member since the group's inception and he and many other bishops joined the group to take a stand by advocating for changes in gun legislation, exploring new technologies, and keeping guns out of the hand of dangerous criminals, the mentally ill, and the underaged.

I interviewed him regarding his participation in the group and the article will come out in the next EDOLA issue of ChurchWork. (Of course the notes I typed up are nowhere to be found on my iPad and the physical notes from which I typed are at home, BOOO.)
  More photos here in my #GC78 Facebook album (will be on Flickr soon!) Following the walk, a shower and rehydration were in order! It actually isn't THAT hot here, but there is very little shade and dehydration can happen rapidly. The weather forecast for tomorrow predicts 103 degrees, but as they say......"it's a dry heat" and it really is.

Morning worship was inspiring and the music was good. I enjoyed sitting in the rear of the room today and seeing the whole room before me. I also loved Katharine Jefferts Schori's sermon this morning. HERE is the link.
This afternoon held a legislative session from 2:15 to 6:15. During this session, there were supposed to be elections to the Executive Council, Church Pension Fund, Treasurer of the General Convention, Disciplinary Board for Bishops, Trustees of the Church Pension Fund, and Trustees of the General Theological Seminary. There was an opening point of privilege by one of the clergy deputies which included a SONG about the new card swiping and voting procedure! He sang it to us all!
I'm sure it's on the media hub or some may have it from the streaming video, but here it is from my phone anyway :-)
VIDEO 

They did not finish all intended business that I know of, but I may have missed a few things since I decided to take a first glance inside the House of Bishops. Because of timing and catching them at their break and then not staying very long afterwards, I will plan to revisit if there is an open session.

Today, I actually ATE LUNCH. It's the fourth day of convention and the sixth day here and today I ate lunch. I'll have you know that it was a very tasty turkey, basil pesto, provolone panini!

I'm not really sure what I've been doing all week with regards to lunches. I want to say I've eaten during lunchtime, but mostly it's been more toward dinner. I know it's vital that you see a photo of my lunch so....

Tonight, our Louisiana Deputation had dinner together! Everyone has been working very hard and I think it's the perfect night for a fun and social time together! We are partaking of free time, great food, and great new friendships!

Thank you for reading! Stay Tuned,

Caroline :-)

An Alternate View: Orientation and Presentations, June 24 at #GC78

Hello everyone!

This morning, (the day before #GC78 officially begins), legislative committee sessions were held at 7:00 AM until 8:30. THIS "having to be awake AND functionally intelligent" thing - whoa....

Let us pray.

Let's just also say the word espresso.

I attended the committee meeting on Prayer Book & Liturgy. Here are the resolutions and amendments that committee is handling. As an alternate, my job is to step in as needed on the House of Deputies floor when one of our deputation needs a break or is sick or needs a whole day away. In addition, I studied three areas of interest:

1. Liturgy & Music

2. Mission

3. Communications & Evangelism (this is the one that led to my using some communications talents and social media to help get the word out about our diocese's experience here at General Convention.)

(media badge)

We opened the Prayer Book, Liturgy & Music Committee meeting with song (Hymn # 362 "Holy, Holy, Holy") and it was evident in verse one that few of us were "morning people", 

By the fourth verse, harmonies were fully present and it actually sounded good. This video is from verse #1. :-)
video (Won't upload from my phone, but will work on it)
Several amendments were presented, discussed, and a few passed.

After this, I headed downstairs to the House of Deputies. Excuse me, but WHAT A GIGANTIC ROOM! easily 800-900 people in here, slightly reminiscent of C-span, yet LOTS more interesting (in my opinion).

SO MANY PEOPLE! I took my place in the section for alternates and plugged in. 

The morning session was a presentation to GC from the Presiding bishop and Gay Clark Jennings (pres. of the HOD - House of Deputies). Presentations were a little bit of orientation and a little bit of procedure about what we have to work on during the convention, officially beginning tomorrow! (June 25-July 3). 

                     

I actually cannot imagine NOT being here a couple of days ahead to hear committees and hearings and to prep on matters at hand. Last night, I got to go to the airport with a friend and pick up a visitor from Korea. My friend has been here for several days and appeared already thoroughly exhausted.
It's certainly eye-opening to see the amount of work that the governing bodies must review, present, discuss, and vote upon.

After a break, an orientation to General Convention was held from 10-12. Alternates were asked to come and sit with their delegations. I found mind hard at work!

                   

                   

So began an introduction to GC followed by a "how-to" session on using the virtual binder. I can handle it. The GC could not pay for wifi for non-committee members in the legislative sessions so THAT was why I couldn't get to the resolutions and access my virtual binder this morning. I did use my phone to look up resolutions and amendments. Wifi is available in all hotels and throughout most of the Convention Center. That is a pretty amazing feat in itself so I am not complaining!

                    

After all the instructions, the parliamentarian showed us examples of secondary amendments. This got hilarious very quickly! It also included a description of what is considered to be "germane" when discussing amendments or secondary amendments. Things can indeed get bogged down when amending amendments, especially in a room of the sleep-deprived and dehydrated deputies :-)

                    

They also showed us how to use the voting devices. I'm glad they plan on reviewing it before every voting session.

                                 

At noon, I went over to the exhibits area in search of food since my breakfast was espresso and being an alternate is a hungry business!
Instead, I ended up watching a discussion by the fellows in mission, led by Canon Mark Stevenson who is the Domestic Poverty Missioner. The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, The Episcopal Church, featured four fellows discussing the inclusion of environmental responsibility and stewardship and care of creation in Christian formation. They also discussed issues such as homelessness and poverty, and what is being done to work towards solving these situations. As I am involved with mission work and lots of you are too, both locally and internationally, I was intensely interested in the conversation. I brought up a point about people who have been displaced and become homeless over a long decline after a natural disaster. A riveting discussion ensued. These fellows and heads of mission programming around the country are doing amazing work and from what I understand, doing it without a very big budget.

After this engaging presentation, I picked up an apple and a bagel and headed back into the HOD for a presentation by each of the four nominees for presiding bishops. 

                       

The nominees are:
The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio
The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut
The Rt. Rev. Dabney T. Smith, Bishop of the Diocese of Southwest Florida
We then listened to what the spirit was telling the church...

                             

Here is more info on the nominees
After opening videos, each gave his own personal statement to the joint session. Then, we waited a few moments and a big bowl was brought out. Inside the bowl were colorful pieces of paper with the categories pictured below. Each nominee chose a paper and called out the color and number which led to a question being read from someone on the floor. This session lasted a loooooooong time, BUT was extremely worth it with the diversity of the questions and the unique and fantastic answers from each nominee. It felt a wee bit like a game show, but I think some levity is good. Keep it light y'all.

We took another standing/stretching break and all said the Lord's Prayer Together. That was an especially moving moment. It's also what it's all about. It's about us being in community together without division even though we may have distinctions and varying opinions.
I was impressed with each candidate and his eloquence in answering each question given. All were impressive and each had his own moments of truly sharing his own style and way of speaking. If you'd like to know who I think the new PB will be, email me for my prediction or comment below!
After a few breaks and lots more questions, each nominee had two minutes to either return to a question they had been asked or to answer a question they had not been asked. Then, they each had time to give formal, final statements. The two-minute statements were a combination of thanks, gratitude, and love to the nominating committee, their families, to each other, and their dioceses. Such love! All four did well today.

When the session was over, I came back to the hotel for a little rest before this evening's legislative session from 7-8:30 PM. I am already wiped out. Not sure if I'll try to go to dinner, but since I still had delicious leftovers from last night's Beef Stroganoff (YUM), I'll eat some now to tide me over :-) I think the arid environment is also getting to me - I had a small nosebleed earlier today. I've been drinking water almost constantly, but I am simply not used to it being so dry! 

Thank you very much for reading and I hope you'll stay tuned :-)

Caroline